Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence — By Lisa Cron

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"We all love a good story but most of us struggle to write them. Lisa Cron enlightens us as to how to get the job done in a savvy and engaging way."

— Michael Gazzaniga, neuroscientist and director of the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara

"Story guru Lisa Cron unlocked my last novel for me over lunch, but if you can’t have her by your side when you’re wrestling your manuscript, the next best thing is this smart, funny, genius book about the myths, realities, and brass tacks of story. Packed with innovative tips and techniques, it's as essential to any writer as a laptop, and much more fun"

— Caroline Leavitt, author of New York Times best seller Pictures of You

"Wired for Story reveals that stories are not only a metaphor for human striving and survival, but they are also the means by which the brain ensures that we survive. Lisa Cron translates the latest neuroscience into a master guidebook for how to write engaging, meaningful, and moving stories."

— Elizabeth Lyon, author of Manuscript Makeover

"As a story consultant for business executives as well as artists, I am always searching for ways to convey the skill set involved in constructing a story. Wired for Story presents basic principles for harnessing the natural power of the brain to recognize and create stories in a way that is inspiring and entirely helpful."

— Murray Nossel, PhD, founder of Narativ Inc.

"Remember when Luke has to drop the bomb into the small vent on the Death Star? The story writer faces a similar challenge of penetrating the brain of the reader. This book gives the blueprints."

— David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brian Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentencereveals how writers can utilize cognitive storytelling strategies to craft stories that ignite readers’ brains and captivate them through each plot element. Strategies that will be a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.

The vast majority of writing advice focuses on “writing well” as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail as they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters. Writers tend to losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next.

When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won’t hold anyone’s interest.

Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brian Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.

Whether you're a writer, a teacher, a non-profiteer, an entrepreneur, or a CEO, with Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brian Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence, you'll learn:

How – and why – story and the brain developed in tandem.

Why we use story, and not facts, to make sense of the world.

What it is that gives story it’s unparalleled power.

What the brain craves in every story it hears.

How to create stories that hook readers from the very first sentence.

How to create stories capable of moving people to action.

Story is the living, breathing cornerstone of evolution. Wired for Story will help you understand that Story isn’t “a” way we make sense of the world. It’s THE way.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Condition: New in New dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards

Edition: First Edition - Published July 10, 2012

Publisher: Ten Speed Press - Crown Publishing Group / New York / New York

Lisa Cron is a story coach and the author of Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers From the Very First Sentence and Story Genius: How To Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages that Go Nowhere). And, her video tutorial Writing Fundamentals: The Craft of Story can be found at Lynda.com.

Lisa has worked in publishing at W.W. Norton, as an agent at the Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency, as a producer on shows for Showtime and CourtTV, and as a story consultant for Warner Brothers and the William Morris Agency.

Since 2006, she's been an instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts MFA program in visual narrative in New York City.

Lisa works with writers, nonprofits, educators and organizations, helping them master the unparalleled power of story, so they can move people to action – whether that action is turning the pages of a compelling novel, trying a new product, or taking to the streets to change the world for the better.